Department for Transport

Transport for London Funding Extension December 2021

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: My Right Honourable friend, the Secretary of State for Transport (Grant Shapps), has made the following Ministerial Statement:Following my statement to the House on 13 December, I am updating the House on a seven-week extension of the current Transport for London funding settlement that was due to expire on 17 December 2021. The Mayor of London and I have agreed to extend the current settlement to 4 February 2022.We have thus far supported London with over £4bn funding and these extraordinary funding settlements for Transport for London recognise the reliance of London’s transport network on fare revenue, and Government’s commitment now and in the future to mitigating loss of fare revenue because of the pandemic. This extension has provided certainty to Transport for London and to Londoners over the Christmas and New Year period whilst also allowing Government and Transport for London to monitor and adapt to the impact of the Omicron variant of the virus.The extended settlement will continue to support the capital and its transport network – on the same terms as previously agreed - until 4 February, when Government expects there to be a new funding settlement in place. The extension letter also includes amendments to the current settlement relating to fares and the Hammersmith bridge ferry.On 15 December, the Department for Transport received further information and specificity from the Mayor of London relating to his proposals, set out in his letter of 8 December, to raise new income of between £0.5bn and £1bn in line with the commitment agreed under the June 2021 emergency settlement. The original deadline for this information was 12 November. Following receipt of the Mayor of London’s 15 December letter, the Government is satisfied that at this stage he has provided sufficient information on his proposals. We have therefore agreed to extend the current Transport for London Settlement from 17 December 2021 to 4 February 2022 so that Government is able to fully consider these proposals.The Government is committed to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends, whilst balancing that with supporting the national transport network as a whole.

Department for Education

Skills Update

Baroness Barran: On 17 December 2021, I announced a package that forms part of the government’s skills revolution which will level up more opportunities for everyone and plug skills gaps to boost the economy. Adults and young people across the country will benefit from more high-quality and flexible education and training – levelling up opportunities and supporting more people into higher skilled, higher wage jobs.A further nine Institutes of Technology were also announced and will join the 12 already up and running. The government’s network of Institutes of Technology are unique collaborations between employers, further and higher education providers - backed by £290 million of government funding – that specialise in delivering high-quality Higher Technical Education and training across a range of STEM occupations and industries, in subjects such as advanced manufacturing, digital and cyber security, aerospace, automotive engineering and healthcare to train people for technical careers that will plug skills gaps. The new Institutes of Technology, in locations including Blackpool, Derby, Salford and Essex, will help deliver the skilled workforce businesses need and support people of all ages to get better jobs and fulfil their potential. This takes the total to 21 Institutes of Technology, delivering on the government’s manifesto commitment.People looking to upskill or retrain will have access to more than 100 short courses starting from September 2022, lasting between 6 weeks to a year, helping to fit training around their lives. More than 20 universities and colleges will offer the courses in subjects where there are skills shortages such as digital, Net Zero, Education, STEM and Healthcare, and offering an alternative to studying a traditional three-year degree. Student finance will be available to students taking the courses, marking the next step in the development of the government’s Lifelong Learning Entitlement which, from 2025, will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to be the equivalent of four years of post-18 education they can use flexibly over their lifetime.The Office for Students has made awards totalling £128 million to 100 successful further and higher education providers who will lead projects to modernise facilities following the outcomes of the Office for Students’ Strategic Priorities Grant 2021/22 capital bidding exercise, with a particular focus on STEM and supporting the disadvantaged. Two examples of successful projects include funding for Nottingham College to create a new Laboratory Science and Innovation Centre to expand their training offer, and funding to Roehampton University to deliver a new Healthcare hub to support more higher technical, apprenticeships and flexible modular training. Details of all the successful projects can be found on the Office for Students’ website.On 17 December 2021, we also opened the bidding for a share of over £150 million from the fourth wave of the T Level Capital Fund, for colleges, schools and sixth forms delivering T Levels. The funding will be used to refurbish buildings and build brand new facilities, including creating training kitchens for catering students, studios for media students, and facilities for agricultural courses such as trainee milking parlours or labs to learn about land science in readiness for students starting courses in September 2023. The fund will also enable providers to buy up to date, industry standard equipment.A further 12 projects totalling £16 million supported by wave 3 of the T Level Capital Fund were also announced, bringing the total to 77 projects that will provide new buildings and facilities for students studying T Levels from September 2022. Successful projects include Gateway Sixth Form College in Leicester, awarded funding to create a dedicated health suite and a central learning resource space for students, and UTC South Durham, awarded funding to extend their engineering hall, to include two engineering workshops and an IT suite.The Chancellor announced in the Budget that an extra £1.6 billion would be invested in 16-19 education and training by 2024-25 compared with 2021-22. The Department for Education has published details of how £615 million of that funding will be invested next year, resulting in the per student funding being boosted by over 8% from £4,188 in 2021/22 to £4,542 in 2022/23. This includes funding for an extra 40 hours of education per student to help them catch up on lost learning due to the pandemic. On top of this, funding for high value courses - those that deliver the skills that the country needs and which can lead to higher wages for students – and high cost courses including building and construction will also be increased.The measures announced on 17 December will help level up opportunities for people and communities across England, and ensuring we have the skilled workforce needed to boost our economy.

Institutes of Technology

Baroness Barran: I am pleased to say that on the 17 December we announced the creation of 9 new Institutes of Technology (IoTs) following the conclusion to the wave 2 competition, subject to their proposals being turned in to binding agreements. This brings the number of IoTs across the country to 21. All 9 proposals met our quality standards and having an additional IoT to that which we committed to in our Manifesto will provide even greater geographical coverage.The Wave 2 competition delivered a range of high-quality proposals demonstrating a keen understanding of learner and employer needs and clear partnership working. They will benefit from up to £120m of government investment to fund industry standard facilities and equipment. I am pleased to announce the lead organisations for the successful proposals and the areas they will cover below:Blackpool and The Fylde College (Lancashire LEP area)Cheshire College South and West (Cheshire and Warrington LEP area)Chichester College Group (Coast to Capital LEP area)DN Colleges Group (Sheffield LEP area)Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (Stoke on Trent & Staffordshire LEP area)Solent University (Solent LEP area)South Essex College (South East LEP area)University of Derby (D2N2 and Leicestershire LEP areas)University of Salford (Greater Manchester LEP area)Institutes of Technology (IoTs) are collaborations between further education providers, universities and employers, with employers at the heart of decision-making, curriculum development and delivery. They specialise in delivering higher technical education, supporting our aim to reform technical training to help employers get the skilled workforce they need and offer local people rewarding jobs and higher paid long-term careers.The first wave of 12 Institutes of Technology in areas such as Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands, North East, South West and London were backed by £170 million investment to fund industry-standard facilities and equipment; most are already open to learners.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Infrastructure Planning Projects

Lord Callanan: My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Kwasi Kwarteng) has today made the following statement:This Statement concerns applications for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by East Anglia ONE North Limited and East Anglia TWO Limited for the construction and operation of the East Anglia ONE North and East Anglia TWO Offshore Wind Farms with a maximum capacity of up to 800MW (East Anglia ONE North) and 900MW (East Anglia TWO), with associated infrastructure required to export the electricity to a proposed National Grid substation at Friston in Suffolk.Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the Examining Authority’s report unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline. Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a Statement to Parliament to announce it. The deadline for the decision on the East Anglia ONE North and East Anglia TWO applications was 6 January 2022.I have decided to set a new deadline of no later than 31 March 2022 for deciding this application to allow an opportunity for further information including in respect of protected species and construction flood risk mitigation to be provided and considered.The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.

Department of Health and Social Care

Covid-19 update

Lord Kamall: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State of State for Health and Social Care (Sajid Javid) has made the following statement:The UK’s COVID-19 vaccination programme continues to protect the nation against the virus. In light of the Omicron variant, we have accelerated the deployment of the vaccination programme to make vaccine accessible to all those eligible. Thanks to the remarkable work of the NHS, volunteers, the armed forces and everyone involved in the vaccination programme, more than 34 million boosters and third doses have now been administered in the UK. On Thursday 30 December, we reached the target we set to offer all eligible adults in England a boosters by the end of December. However, our fight against the virus does not stop there and we urge everyone to play their part in protecting the country by taking up the vaccine and booster offer without delay. Following emerging data on the spread of the Omicron variant and careful consideration of available data, the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published further advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) has accepted this advice and all four parts of the UK intend to follow the JCVI’s advice. At this time, the JCVI has advised the following[1]:A two-dose primary course of Pfizer vaccine should be offered to children aged 5 to 11 who are either in an at-risk group as per the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA’s) Green Book or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed.Booster vaccination eligibility should be expanded to include all those aged 16 and 17 not already included in an at-risk group, no earlier than three months after completion of their primary course.Booster vaccination should be offered to 12 to 15-year-olds who are either in an at-risk group (as per Table 4 of UKHSA’s Green Book) or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed. Booster vaccine should be offered no earlier than three months after completion of their primary course.Booster vaccination should be offered to those aged 12-15 who are severely immunosuppressed and who have had a third primary dose, no earlier than three months after completion of the third dose. The NHS is working through updated guidance and will set out how this is going to be operationalised, in the new year. The JCVI will continue to review the programme and options for maximising health benefits alongside closely monitoring the rapidly evolving data on the Omicron variant of concern. With the vaccine offer opened to those aged 5 to 11 in an at-risk group and deployment of the extended booster vaccine offer, I am now updating the House on the liabilities HMG has taken on in relation to further vaccine supply via this statement and the Departmental Minutes containing a description of the liability undertaken. The agreement to provide indemnity with deployment of further booster doses to the population increases the statutory contingent liability of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Given the urgency with which we required JCVI advice and now deployment, we regret that it has not been possible to provide 14 sitting days’ notice to consider these issues in advance of announcing the planned extension to the booster programme in the UK. Deployment of effective vaccines to eligible groups has been and remains a key part of the Government’s strategy to manage COVID-19. Willingness to accept the need for appropriate indemnities to be given to vaccine suppliers has helped to secure access to vaccines, with the expected benefits to public health and the economy alike, much sooner than may have been the case otherwise.Given the exceptional circumstances we are in, and the terms on which developers have been willing to supply a COVID-19 vaccine, we along with other nations have taken a broad approach to indemnification proportionate to the situation we are in. Even though the COVID-19 vaccines have been developed at pace, at no point and at no stage of development has safety been bypassed. The MHRA approval for use of the currently deployed vaccines clearly demonstrates that these vaccines have satisfied, in full, all the necessary requirements for safety, effectiveness, and quality. We are providing indemnities in the very unexpected event of any adverse reactions that could not have been foreseen through the robust checks and procedures that have been put in place.I will update the House in a similar manner as and when other COVID-19 vaccines or additional doses of vaccines already in use in the UK are deployed. HM Treasury has approved the proposal. [1] JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination of children and young people: 22 December 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Implementation of Statutory Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)

Lord Kamall: My Hon Friend the Minister of State (Minister of State for Health) (Ed Argar) has made the following statement:Since 2018, integrated care systems (ICSs) have been developing more integrated ways of working, bringing together NHS organisations and partners from local government and beyond to plan and provide services around residents’ needs as locally as possible. This integrated approach to person-centered care brings together actors in health and social care, alongside local and voluntary partners, to support people to retain their independence, health and wellbeing for longer. The Health and Care Bill supports the move towards integration by providing measures to put Integrated Care Systems on a statutory footing through the establishment of Integrated Care Boards and Integrated Care Partnerships. The Bill is currently being considered by Parliament and will soon be subject to line-by-line scrutiny at Committee Stage in the House of Lords. It is essential that Parliament is given sufficient time to properly consider the Bill. Therefore, subject to the passage of the Bill, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care have continued to plan for the establishment of the proposed Integrated Care Boards. This includes a joint decision to set a target date for the introduction of statutory Integrated Care Systems in July 2022. Joint working arrangements have been in place at system level for some time and significant steps have already been taken in preparing for the introduction of statutory Integrated Care Boards, if and when the Bill is enacted. This progress towards the proposed statutory Integrated Care Systems will continue in the new year. The target date for establishment of Integrated Care Boards in July 2022 (which, as indicated earlier, is subject to the successful passage of the Bill) will provide greater certainty to systems and staff that are preparing for statutory Integrated Care Systems. NHS England and Improvement will of course continue to support systems with preparing for the proposed statutory Integrated Care Systems.

Ministerial Correction HL3362

Lord Kamall: I would like to inform the House that a written answer I gave on 2 November 2021, Official Report HL3362 to the noble Lord Alton of Liverpool, was incomplete. The text reflected the incorrect application by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) of restrictions on information publication for reasons of patient confidentially.I would like to correct the record as below.The Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority website about the “limited evidence on risks and success rates” for mitochondrial replacement techniques; how many embryos have been generated to date using each particular technique; how many such embryos have been transferred to patients; how many confirmed pregnancies have resulted since then; and how such outcomes remain consistent with expectations from the scientific review by the HFEA in 2016 about the safety and efficacy of methods to avoid mitochondrial disease through assisted conception. ReplyThe Department of Health and Social Care has not made an assessment of the statement referred to from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) website. The statement aims to provide basic information to potential patients and the reference to limited evidence on risks and success rates reflects that this treatment has only been available in the UK for the last few years.The HFEA has advised that to date it has licensed 24 patients as eligible for mitochondrial donation treatment in the UK. 130 embryos have been produced and 9 embryos transferred during mitochondrial donation treatment. To protect patient confidentiality, information about whether or not there have been any confirmed pregnancies cannot be disclosed.No assessment of the safety and efficacy of mitochondrial donation treatment has been made to date as the number of treatments in the UK is so low.

Treasury

Economy Update

Lord Agnew of Oulton: My right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.Today I can inform the House that I have asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to produce an economic and fiscal forecast for Wednesday 23 March 2022, as per the Charter for Budget Responsibility. The Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011 states that the OBR must produce a forecast on at least two occasions each financial year.Today I have also laid before Parliament an updated Charter for Budget Responsibility. The updated Charter sets out the new fiscal framework announced at Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021.The new fiscal rules will allow the government to continue funding first-class public services and drive economic growth through record investment, while ensuring that debt falls over the medium term.In accordance with the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, the Charter was first published in draft on 27 October as it includes modified guidance to the Office for Budget Responsibility. No further changes have been made to the updated Charter since it was published in draft.A debate and votes in the House of Commons on the updated Charter and the level of the welfare cap will be scheduled in due course.